Kamen Rider Fourze: In Between
by SoTiredBlah
Summary: TomokoxRyusei. From the last time Ryusei walked out of New Amanogawa High to being reunited during a crisis, Tomoko and Ryusei have gone through quite a lot during those last five years.
1. Visiting Subaruboshi

**Chapter 1: Visiting Subaruboshi**

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**Disclaimer: I do not own Kamen Rider Fourze.**

* * *

Sakuta Ryusei yawned as he walked out of the gates of New Amanogawa High, having signed off the last of his forms, completing his transfer period at the school. It had been an eventful semester, he thought to himself wistfully, as he gazed around him. Green foliage surrounded the path back to Subaruboshi High School, their leaves swaying peacefully in the wind. Still, it would've been nice to have had someone see him off...

"Ryusei-kun."

_Speak of the devil._ Ryusei turned around at the sound of his name being called by a familiar voice. He smiled warmly at the younger girl and her friend that tagged along. However, something seemed off about the way that she called him.

_Oh wait._

_Tomoko-chan said 'Ryusei-kun'_, thought Ryusei, his mind going through multiple scenarios in his head at a frantic pace. _She said 'Ryusei-kun' instead of 'Ryusei-san'._

He took in how beautiful she was, drank it all in, as he realized he would not be seeing her for a long time. Her shyness, her long flowing black hair, even her makeup that bordered on goth-like. All of it Nozama Tomoko, whereas their friend JK who was accompanying her was wearing his usual fifty shades of ridiculous underneath the blue school blazer.

"Thanks for everything," she said as she played with her hands, twiddling her thumbs.

Crossing his arms, Ryusei said, "Come visit me at Subaruboshi."

JK nodded immediately, his grin already there, while Ryusei watched as Tomoko lowered her head a little bit. Her mouth quirked before she tilted her head, avoiding his gaze.

"But you have a girlfriend, don't you?"

Ryusei's eyes widened, "Eh?"

This time Tomoko did meet his eyes as she looked at him, almost pleadingly.

_I had a girlfriend at Subaruboshi?_ Ryusei thought, ignoring JK's finger camera._ Wait, don't tell me..._

"Oh... You mean Shirakawa-kun?" he asked her, referring to a friend back at his school.

Tomoko nodded, her heart beating in anticipation to his answer.

"I don't have a girlfriend," he said, relieved to clear up the air. His smile returned as he continued to stare into Tomoko's eyes. "We're not like that."

It was Tomoko's turn to be surprised as she let out a small gasp.

Two seconds had barely passed before Ryusei grew slightly uncomfortable. _Should I ask her out now... No, wait, maybe I should wait. Yeah. Yeah, I should wait.  
_"See you later," he said as he attempted to compose himself. Turning away from the two second year students, he thought to himself, _I'll see her again, right?_

Behind him, JK was already pointing fingers, making a heart with his hands, as Tomoko revelled in glee of what she just heard. "I see... So she wasn't his girlfriend..."

A faint pink aura began to form around her, as JK stepped back from her. "I can see a pink aura..." he said as he watched Tomoko run after Ryusei.

"Ryusei-kun!" she called after him as he once again turned around. "Um... can you give me your number?"

"Eh?" Ryusei nodded dumbly as he passed his phone over to her. Tomoko quickly entered her number into his contacts and sent off a blank message to herself. A small chime went off as her phone received it.

Ryusei laughed quietly as Tomoko offered his phone back to him. Pulling her in closer, he hugged her tightly. Tomoko blushed furiously, but returned his hug, squeezing his back.

"Promise to visit?" he whispered into her ear.

"As soon as I can," she answered back.

Ryusei released her from his embrace and took back his phone from her, continuing down the road to Subaruboshi with a more livelier step in his walk.

Meanwhile, alone and forgotten by the two, JK snapped his phone shut, a smile working its way around his face.

"Information, _get!_" he said gleefully.

* * *

**One Week Later**

Tomoko walked hesitantly past the gates into the grounds of Subaruboshi High School. Her bright blue school uniform clashed violently against the pale beige uniforms of the Subaruboshi students. Many of the male students were beginning to take notice of her, slapping each other on the back loudly and yelling out to her. Unhappy with the attention she was getting, Tomoko clutched her black bag closely to her, her left hand gripping her cell phone tightly.

In the past week since the new semester had started at New Amanogawa, Ryusei and Tomoko had sent each other a flurry of text messages and late night calls. On Tomoko's side, her mother was happy that her daughter was finally acting like a "normal" teenage girl, staying up late to talk to a boy, there was no doubt that she was pleased. On Ryusei's side... well, Tomoko never asked about his family. Every time the topic came up, Ryusei would switch it to something else. Eventually, Tomoko learned quickly that he didn't want to talk about it.

However, a week away from each other's presence had taken its toll on each of them. Tomoko would go into the new clubroom, expecting to see Ryusei there waiting for her, while Ryusei kept on looking back at his side, only to remember that Tomoko wasn't by his side anymore. So, after a bit of deliberation and pushing from her female _sempai_, Tomoko had skipped a bit of school in order to surprise Ryusei with a visit. Except...

**From: Tomoko**

** To: Ryusei**

** Is class over for you yet?**

**From: Ryusei**

** To: Tomoko**

** Yeah, but I'm borrowing the gym for a sparring session with Jirou. **

Tomoko closed her cell phone with a sigh. She should've known better and made plans with Ryusei, instead of thinking that he had nothing else to do after school. With a slightly scared look on her face from all of the stares she was receiving, she entered the school building, hoping to somehow find her way to the gym.

"Oh!" Tomoko turned around to see a trio coming towards her. "Aren't you from Amanogawa?"

The only female in the trio stepped forward, her short hair pulled back a bit by two pink hair clips. Tomoko thought hard... she looked so familiar.

"I'm Shirakawa Mei," the other female introduced herself. "Were you looking for Ryusei-kun?"

"Ah!" Tomoko finally remembered. This was the girl that Gentarou said had a crush on Ryusei. _Ryusei-kun said that they weren't dating though_.

Tomoko nodded, attempting to cover up her realization of the girl's identity, "He said he'd be at the gym, sparring?"  
"I think he said something about that," Mei said as she led the way to the gym. "He's been happier since he returned, did you know that?"

"Really?"

"Yeah. Something about a really good friend that likes natto," Mei said in a casual tone, gauging the other girl's reaction out of the corner of her eye. Not realizing she was being watched, Tomoko bit her thumb as she smiled at the news.

"We're here," Mei said as they rounded the corner. The gym doors were wide open, and inside were only two people, sparring.

"The other one is Iishi Jirou," Mei told Tomoko.

"Oh, his friend," Tomoko nodded her understanding. "He told me that he'd be attending Subaruboshi."

Mei nodded, as they watched Jirou and Ryusei duke it out. A series of chops and kicks amongst the two boys were exchanged as Ryusei managed to sneak in a hit on Jirou's chest. Jirou fell back two steps as Ryusei didn't hesitate to press his advantage, advancing onwards with a flurry of jabs. However, Jirou managed to catch a few and hold on to Ryusei's fist, locking in.

"Aren't you tired yet, Ryusei?" Jirou taunted him.

"Think I can still beat you, Jirou!" Ryusei shouted as he broke the lock. He quickly thrusted his hand forward, his palm open and with a _"Wachaa!_" he pushed the other fighter back, the strength of his attack forcing the other boy back and onto the ground.

He clapped his hands together, pretending to dust them off. Walking over to Jirou, he extended his arm and helped him up.

"Good fight," he congratulated Jirou.

"Ryusei-kun!"

Ryusei gave a start and looked over to the source of the voice. "Tomoko-chan?" he slapped his face lightly to make sure that it was really Tomoko that was coming towards him and not his hallucination.

"Ryusei-kun... are you alright?" Tomoko asked him once she had reached him. Curiously, Mei had stayed behind.

"Oi, Ryusei," Jirou clapped his friend's shoulder. "Who is this dark beauty?"

Ryusei brushed off his friend's hand, his facial expression slightly distorted with annoyance. "One of my close friends from Amanogawa."

Turning back to Tomoko, he looked around. "No one else came with you?"

"It was just me..." Tomoko replied, nervously biting her lip. "Is that alright?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah," Ryusei nodded quickly. "It's fine." Ryusei smiled at the girl, "It's good to see you again, Tomoko-chan."

Jirou punched Ryusei in the back, unhappy about being ignored. "I'm going to go now," he said. "Why don't you take your _girlfriend_ out?"  
"S-she's not my girlfriend!" Ryusei spluttered, while Tomoko blushed.

Jirou merely laughed it off as he walked over to Mei. "Is this what you want?" he asked her in a low conspiratorial tone.

Mei shrugged, "Can't do anything about it. I know when a battle is lost." And with that, Mei turned away from the sight of the reunion.

Back in the gym, Ryusei was attempting to apologize for Jirou's girlfriend remark. "That guy... he's kinda... well... rude... sometimes," he was saying.

"It's okay, Ryusei-kun," Tomoko consoled him. "I'm not offended."  
"You aren't?" Ryusei asked in relief. "Oh, thank god."

Tomoko giggled, before turning about, observing the gym.

"So why are you here?" Ryusei asked her.

Tomoko stopped and faced Ryusei. "You told me to visit," she answered simply.

Ryusei grinned. "I guess so.

"But it's so quiet, and there's nothing to do here," he said. "Do you... maybe... want to go out for a snack or something...?"

Tomoko nodded, "As long as they serve natto, anything is fine."

"You can't just add natto to everything!" Ryusei argued as they walked out of the doors.

* * *

** So I guess this is my first big comeback to the Kamen Rider section of Fanfiction. I hope you've all enjoyed it! **

** So... this will more or less take place in the five years before Movie Ultimatum and I'm just going to try and write my own headcanon into this. Hopefully it'll make sense and you know, it won't blow your minds and things. **

** So this starts out from the last scene that we have in the finale, of course, watch the DC because so much more Tomoko/Ryusei goodness -dskjgaskljg;afg-. i'mcool.**

** I hope you all enjoyed this first chapter and leave a comment, subscribe or a favourite, you know... I'm on tumblr as well, so there'll be more extras there. **

** Look forward to the next chapter!**


	2. His Graduation

**Chapter 2: His Graduation**

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**Disclaimer: I do not own Kamen Rider Fourze.**

* * *

It had been a rather uneventful last semester for the third years, as there were no more Zodiarts to fight. While Ryusei remained at Subaruboshi, on the weekends he did manage to find time to meet up with the rest of the Kamen Rider Club for their activities. As for his and Tomoko's friendship, they had bonded over many things, such as Ryusei's love of Tomatoes, teaching her martial arts, but they had never really put a ring on their relationship. Everyone knew that there was an attraction between the two, but neither of them had put a name to it yet.

However, today was the last day of high school for the third years. Graduation day had finally arrived for them.

* * *

"Uwah!" Kisaragi Gentarou yawned loudly as he swung his thin, black, flame-sticker coloured school bag over his shoulder, his graduation diploma hanging out. "It's finally over! I've finally graduated from Amanogawa!"

"Hmph," Utahoshi Kengo slapped the other man on his back. "You would've never had passed those final exams if it wasn't for Yuuki and I helping you study."  
"It's okay now!" Joujima Yuuki slipped in between the two boys, pulling them close. "We've all graduated successfully!" she said as she fired off an impromptu salute.

Behind them, the former chairman of the Kamen Rider Club, Kazashiro Miu, and her fiancée, Daimonji Shun, watched the three with amused looks on their faces. "Some things never change, huh," Shun commented to Miu.

"It'd be weird if they had all changed in the last semester," Miu said as she wrapped her arms around Shun's. "It's nice to know that they haven't been up to anything stupid after we graduated from the club."

"Oh!" Gentarou turned around, "Miu! We're all going to Ryusei's graduation tomorrow, right?"

"Of course!" Miu called back. "Just because he goes to a different school doesn't mean he's not part of the Kamen Rider Club anymore."

"I'd better be still part of the club," said Ryusei lightly as he approached them from behind, Tomoko by his side with JK bringing up the rear.

With a scream of delight, Gentarou raced over to Ryusei while Yuuki and Kengo watched their friend's childish antics. Yuuki reached into her bag, putting away her own graduation diploma and withdrawing her stuffed Hayabusa-kun doll out. "Won't you be sad when we all go our separate ways, Kengo-kun?"

"I guess so," Kengo replied. "You're going off to America to go through a year of exchange as part of your astronaut training... and I'll be here at JAXA studying."

"And Gen-chan?"

"Gentarou said he wants to go on a friendship tour around Japan," Kengo crossed his arms and shook his head at the absurdity of the idea.

"Try not to get sick so much when I leave," Yuuki said, bumping Kengo's arm lightly with Hayabusa-kun, squeezing the toy so that it would give off a squeaky noise. "I can't always come back here to cook you proper food."

Kengo looked over at Yuuki and noticed that she was near tears, "Are you crying?" he teased her.

"Of course not!" she said as she hid her face from him. Looking back to make sure that Gentarou had everyone else preoccupied, he slipped his arms around Yuuki's waist. As Yuuki felt Kengo's arms around her, she lifted up Hayabusa-kun to her face and cried freely, her tears dampening the cloth.

* * *

As the club was walking home, Gentarou slipped to the back of the group, wanting some alone time. In a rare moment of quietness, Gentarou reached into his pocket and pulled out the Super-Rocket switch, staring at it, as though in a trance.

"Still can't get over her, huh?" Ryusei had obviously noticed him. Having heard from Tomoko about what happened with Foundation X and Nadeshiko, Ryusei had been surprised to find out that the happy-go-lucky, friendship-obsessed Gentarou had fallen in love.

Tomoko turned around as she heard Ryusei fall in line with Gentarou, shooting him a quick glance to make sure that everything was okay, to which Ryusei responded with a nod. He could handle this by himself.

"It's been a year since I've seen her," sighed Gentarou, referring to the SOLU that had captured his heart. "If it wasn't for this switch, I would've thought that it was just a dream.

"I mean... the first time I ever met her, she just fell into my arms and my heart, you know?" Gentarou scratched his head, reminiscing. "She was even more beautiful than Miu or Tomoko without makeup."

Ryusei gave a start, "You've seen Tomoko-chan without makeup?"

"Oh yeah," Gentarou said. "It was before you came, we entered her house trying to find a switch and she didn't know we were in her room. She had nothing gothy or dark on. Tomoko was pretty pretty."

"Oh," Ryusei nodded, quickly. He had never seen Tomoko without makeup before. To him, the idea of Tomoko without makeup was something foreign, like Yuuki being obsessed with water, or Gentarou acting like a stereotypical delinquent.

Gentarou flipped the switch up into the air, not noticing Ryusei's reaction. "I just wish I could see her again."

"Nadeshiko, right?" Ryusei asked him.

"Who else?"

* * *

That night, Ryusei laid against the walls of his bedroom, reliving his conversation with Gentarou. No matter how often he had asked, how often they had hung out, Ryusei had yet to have seen Tomoko without makeup.

A soft sound interrupted his thoughts as his phone's back screen lit up, indicating that a message had come in. The LED light shone pink, telling him it was a message from Tomoko. Crossing his room, he grabbed his phone, flipping it to read the message.

**From: Tomoko**

** To: Ryusei**

** Was everything alright today with Gentarou-san?**

Within the darkness of the room, Ryusei smiled. It was just like her to know that something was troubling him, but he couldn't tell her that it was because he hadn't seen her without makeup. He quickly fired off a response.

**From: Ryusei**

** To: Tomoko**

** It's all fine. He was just thinking about Nadeshiko.**

A far distance away, in her own bedroom that was covered with assorted gothic items and accessories, Tomoko gave a faint sigh of relief before she hit the call button. For this, she reasoned, it would be better to do it through voice rather than digital messages.

"Hello?" Ryusei's voice crackled through the speakers.

"Ryusei-kun," Tomoko greeted him.

"Tomoko-chan, is anything wrong?"

A small pause. Ryusei could already imagine Tomoko's pout. "No," she answered. "I was just wondering if you were okay?"

"I'm fine," came his response. "Why do you ask?"

Another pause. The pout was growing, Ryusei thought with his own grin growing on his face. "You seemed a bit off after the small chat."

Ryusei's mouth gave a small twitch. Leave it to Tomoko to be so sensitive. "It's fine, nothing much."

"Okay..." Tomoko leaned against the wall of her bed. In her free hand, she was holding the paired ticket that Yuuki had given them. Ryusei had insisted that she be the one to keep in, saying that he didn't want to lose something important.

"Tomoko-chan?" Ryusei's voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Y-yes?"

"Thanks for caring," Ryusei said, lowering his voice to a more soothing tone.

"It's nothing," she said demurely. "Should I be keeping you up this late? It's your graduation tomorrow."

"It's fine," Ryusei replied. "I don't mind it as long as it's with you."

Tomoko blushed, while Ryusei realized what he just said. "I-I mean... well you know.."

"I know." Tomoko cut him off, aware that Ryusei would get nervous whenever he said something that was too much to be considered just friendship. Secretly, it made her happy whenever Ryusei would act like this.

"Tomoko-chan?" Tomoko could hear him take a deep breath.

"Hmm?"

"For my graduation tomorrow... would you mind not coming with makeup on?" Ryusei managed to stammer out his question.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean... well... Gentarou has seen you without makeup, right? He mentioned that you were really pretty without it, so I wanted to see it too..."

Instantly, Tomoko realized why Ryusei had been off in the afternoon. She smiled as she toyed with the ticket. "I'll see you tomorrow, Ryusei-kun. Good night."  
"Oh, yes, good night." Ryusei ended the call before wondering, _Did I ask something I shouldn't have?_

* * *

As graduation at Subaraboshi loomed closer by the hour, most of the third year students were waiting in their respective homerooms for their teachers to come and pick them up for the ceremony. As was somewhat traditional, many of the female _kouhai_ were waiting outside the third year homerooms, each of them clamouring for the promise of the elusive second button from the male _sempai_ they secretly (or not-so-secretly now) harboured feelings for.

In Ryusei's homeroom, there was an unusually large amount of girls waiting outside the class, all of them loudly clamoring for the attention of the boys. The females in the homeroom just winked at each other knowingly, some of them having already gone through this tradition before. The males, however, kept within the room, understanding that there was a force that kept them out of the doorway, as though it was the sacred barrier line. However, that didn't stop them from yelling out their intentions.

Screams of "Sakuta-senpai!" and "Please give me your second button after you graduate!" were commonly heard that morning, along with the rare "Please accept my feelings, Ryusei-sempai!". For the most part, the males all jibed Ryusei, Jirou being one of the most prominent.

"Ryusei, are you going to give any of these girls your button?" he asked loudly, winking grandly towards the girls. "Don't you have a special girl out there that you want to give your button to?"

Ryusei just stared at Jirou, "Not really, no."

"Well..." Jirou waved his hand over towards the girls, "Are you sure?" Jirou dragged him over towards the girls, but maintained his distance over this unspoken line. "Look carefully," Jirou said, his tone becoming slightly more intense.

With a derisive glance over at his friend, Ryusei humoured him and took a surveying glance over his underclassmen. _Beige, beige, beige, black, beige... wait_

"Excuse me," Ryusei said as he cut through the girls. Squeals could be heard as he broke their ranks and found,

"Tomoko-chan," Ryusei breathed, entranced by the sight that stood before him. Just like how Gentarou had described her, she had worn nothing gothy, instead wearing a gorgeous, long-sleeved dress that hugged the small of her waist. It came up to her mid-thigh, and with the fabric falling gently on her hips, flared out slightly at the bottom. Made out of a shimmering dark blue and black material, it seemed to reflect Meteor's color scheme.

And just like how Gentarou had said, she was "pretty pretty" without her makeup on.

Hell, in Ryusei's mind, she was more than beautiful.

"Ryusei-kun," she greeted him back, painfully aware of the stares that she was receiving from the female crowd. Her eyes shifted back and forth, unwilling to make eye contact with him as long as the girls around him continually shot bullets with their glares.

Understanding her discomfort, Ryusei immediately picked up her bridal style to her shock and surprise, while Jirou wolf-whistled. Turning away from the crowd, he nodded over to Jirou over their heads and raced off towards somewhere secluded, Tomoko holding on tightly for dear life.

"Here should be good enough," he said as he rounded a corner and set Tomoko down gently.

"Where are we?"

Ryusei looked at his uniform, realizing that his graduation ribbon had gone lopsided. Attempting to adjust it, he answered, "The storage room," before cursing as he pricked his finger with the pin.

Tomoko reached forward and took over from his clumsy attempts, "Why here?"

Ryusei looked around, anywhere but the mesmerizing sight in front of him, "I wanted somewhere private."

Tomoko looked up at him and saw that he was finally looking down at her. Painfully aware of their closeness, she took a step back. "I'm done," she said.

"Thanks," Ryusei looked at her, drinking in the sight. "You look really beautiful today. I mean, not that you don't always look beautiful, it's just that I thought that I offended you somehow last night."

"You didn't offend me," Tomoko told him, simply. "I just wanted you to sleep."

"Oh..." Ryusei smiled nervously. "Was that it?"

Tomoko smiled mischievously back. "Do you like my present to you?"

Ryusei nodded, "I never thought you would let me see you like this. Whenever I asked, you always said that you didn't like having your face be so naked."

"As long as Ryusei-kun doesn't mind, I don't mind it so much," she said, drawing closer to him. "I'll still be wearing my makeup as usual though."

"That's fine," Ryusei answered. "As long as I'm the one who gets to see you the most."

Tomoko gasped as she saw Ryusei snap off his second button and extend it to her in his palm. "Nozama Tomoko, will you receive my second button?"

Tomoko stood motionless, while Ryusei swallowed visibly. _This was it,_ he thought. _The second button that was used to represent true love. If she takes it, then she feels the same way that I feel about her._

With trembling hands, Tomoko reached out and lifted the button out of Ryusei's palm. "I, Nozama Tomoko, receive your second button," she said as she hugged Ryusei tightly, wrapping her arms around his neck.

As they pulled back from the hug, Tomoko's mouth was twitching, while Ryusei's was fully smiling.

"You can do it, you know."

Ryusei gave a quick start, slightly loosening his grip on her.

"I won't mind," Tomoko said as she leaned in.

"Is that your mind-reading powers again?" Ryusei asked her, teasing her about the time when they were tracking down Cygnus.

Tomoko shook her head slightly, "It's because I know what you want to do," she said as they kissed for the first time.

* * *

Ryusei ran back towards his classroom, having dropped off Tomoko near the staircase leading towards the gymnasium where the ceremony would be held. His mind on cloud nine, he made it just in time.

"Sakuta-kun!" his homeroom teacher looked crossly at him. "Where have you been?"

"Bathroom," he answered curtly, ignoring Jirou's amused expression.

"Sakuta-kun, I understand that you are graduating soon," his teacher's tone softened. "Try to make it back earlier for any future engagements."

"Got it," Ryusei filed in line behind Jirou as they walked down towards the gymnasium.

"Tomoko!" Miu waved Tomoko over towards the rest of the Kamen Rider club. It had been a shock last night when Miu had received a call from the goth girl, asking her for help. Nevertheless, Miu had pulled through in fine style, producing the dress that the girl was now wearing. However, as opposed to the morning when Miu had sent off the girl, Tomoko was now back to wearing her makeup, slightly concealing her natural beauty. As Tomoko shuffled and squeezed over, she noticed that some of the girls attending the ceremony were shooting glares at her.

"How did it go?" she whispered, while the rest of the club looked over curiously. Only Shun sat forward, pretending to be uninterested, as Miu had informed him of part of the story. "Good?"

Tomoko buried her face down in front of her hands, nodding furiously.

A piano began playing somewhere, signalling for everyone to rise as the graduating class walked in. Gentarou was swaying looking for their friend until he saw him, pointing Ryusei out to the rest of the club before he and Yuuki decided to wave towards him.

As the class turned towards the audience and bowed, some of the girls began whispering loudly.

_Where's Sakuta-sempai's second button?_

The whisper quickly grew into a quiet roar as the news traveled out to the area where parents and guests were sitting.

Miu looked over to the younger girl sitting beside her. Tomoko was cupping something in her hands, hiding herself behind them.

"Tomoko?"

Tomoko looked up at Miu and realized that the rest of the Kamen Rider Club was staring at her hands, Shun no longer acting like he didn't care.

"Did Ryusei give you his button?" Miu asked quietly.

Tomoko pouted prettily before she gave a quick nod. Miu's face instantly lit up, while JK and Shun exchanged satisfied expressions on their faces. Gentarou and Yuuki quickly looked at each other, as Kengo slowly covered his face, realizing what was coming.

"Quietly, please," he begged them as Gentarou and Yuuki curled over their seats, tucking in their head and arms.

"Relationship... _kitaaaa~!"_

* * *

** Hehe, the cliché second button theme was used here... but I hope I used it well! So, there's also a few snippets of the other Fourze couples that I really like, like Miu and Shun (who can blame me), Kengo and Yuuki (because cuties) and Gentarou and Nadeshiko (HAVE YOU WATCHED THE MOVIES?!)**

** So we finally have a relationship formed here~ yaaaay~ I've never seen a fic so far that has them together before Tomoko graduates... everyone thinks that he's gone by the time he graduates from Subaruboshi... hmm... thoughts?**

** Again more comments on my tumblr, hurhurhur. Please leave a review! **

** And look forward to the next chapter :D**


	3. Her Prom

**Chapter 3: Her Prom**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kamen Rider Fourze.**

* * *

Yes, it had been at Ryusei's graduation that their close friendship had finally blossomed into a relationship. It had been a year since then, Tomoko thought as she cleaned out her locker.

Or almost a year anyway.

But in that short year, they had grown up a lot together. From Tomoko slowly becoming less and less self-conscious of what other people thought about her. She had gradually used less and less makeup, instead just using the barest essentials. Once a girl that covered herself with an overwhelming amount of dark makeup, Tomoko had simply accepted her natural beauty, allowing herself to grow into it. She no longer applied thick, generous amounts of eyeliner, instead opting for a more natural look. Ryusei's reaction when she had first shown him was... amusing to say the least. She still wore her usually "gothy" clothes, but she occasionally wore different shades of blue.

"I like the colour blue," was all she would say when the club asked her about her wardrobe change. And they would all wink back at her and comment that Ryusei looked good in blue too, causing them both to blush.

She had also started to indulge less and less in her concoction brewing, but still kept her white snake skin around. According to JK, her aura had gradually begun to shift from being a dark purple most of the time to a light magenta.

The only time that her aura had turned fully black during their first year was when she had found out that Ryusei kept in contact with Inga Blink.

"It's not what you think, Tomoko-chan!" he had said when she was scrolling through the emails on his phone. She had started to mumble mystical words of gibberish at a fast pace as Ryusei noticed that tiny tendrils of black aura had started to appear around her.

"She was just asking if I would like to take over as an assistant instructor at the Seishin Dairin Fist school!" he explained as Tomoko reached out towards him. He had caught both of her arms and pulled her in, the shock of the embrace making the aura disappear.

"It's purely professional," he murmured into her eyes. "Nothing more than that."

"But I saw the kiss at the temple!" Tomoko had vehemently protested, "Your face looked like you were surprised!"

"Is that why you didn't talk to me for five days back then?" Ryusei released his girlfriend, allowing her to sit on his lap facing him so that he could explain fully. His hands were at her hips, her arms draped loosely around Ryusei's neck. "That wasn't a look of surprise. That was a look of terror. I didn't know she would do that."

Ryusei paused, smiling, "You're so cute when you're jealous."

Tomoko's lower lip trembled as she raised a hand to slap Ryusei, only to have him catch it and kiss it.

That night, Tomoko had called home to tell her mom that she would be sleeping over at Ryusei's house.

Tomoko blushed at the memory, before rifling through her locker. It was the last day before prom and she would get no other time to clean out her locker. It was funny, how in her first year, she had had nothing in her locker except for her assorted trinkets from the occult store and her books. Over the years she had expanded, with more and more trinkets, but with additional gifts from her friends, a few leftover notes from JK asking her for help with homework, a package of Yuuki's space snacks, and a picture from Rabbit Hutch.

It was the last thing that she had left up, her locker now bare and empty except for that single picture. With careful fingers, she pried it off, removing the adhesive from its back.

It was a picture that had been taken during their final days in Rabbit Hutch, before it had been destroyed by Gamou. They had had a lot of spare time during that day, and JK had brought in a camera from somewhere. Numerous pictures were shot, of Kengo playing the guitar, of Yuuki and Tomoko getting extremely (and in Ryusei's mind, uncomfortably) close with Miu leaning against Tomoko. Tomoko stifled a laugh at the thought of the picture, remembering Shun's "mad" face in the background. There had been another one where it had been the girls and Kengo, Yuuki having managed to coax Kengo into a slightly cat-like pose. Someone had shot a picture of JK straining to lift the weights, while Shun looked on with an instructor like pose. When the photos were developed JK had stolen that photo, saying that it would hurt his image. Yuuki had also taken Gentarou's jacket, draping it out herself.

But then, there had been a slight surprise. After Kengo had taken Yuuki and Gentarou's picture, Ryusei and Tomoko had snuck up behind him, snatching it away from him. They had ran towards Tomoko's corner and snapped a quick selfie of themselves, with Ryusei attempting to look seductive for the camera and Tomoko slightly pouting.

One picture had been enough for Ryusei, but Tomoko tugged on his arm, shaking her head. "Can we do what Yuuki and Gentarou-san did?"

"Switch uniforms?" Ryusei asked her.

Tomoko nodded, keeping her eyes on Ryusei's reaction.

"S-sure," Ryusei began to unbutton his beige Subaruboshi blazer...

And that was how the picture that was in Tomoko's hand came to be... the picture of their little uniform switcheroo. Tomoko traced a finger on Ryusei's image, noting his caring gaze towards her while she had crossed her arms and posed in a defiant stance for the camera. It was her favourite picture out of the two, and like the couple's ticket, Ryusei had urged her to keep it for herself, saying that he would take the other one.

Tomoko gave her locker one final cursory check before unhooking her lock and shutting her locker close. It was time to leave high school behind, she thought as she walked out the empty corridor.

But not before one last memory.

* * *

"I'm home!" Tomoko called as she entered her home. No one answered her back. "Unusual," she breathed as she stepped in gingerly, expecting something bad to occur.

A note on the table caught her attention. "Going out for groceries. Be back later."

So that's where her mother was. Tomoko shrugged and went up to her room.

Her room had remained mostly unchanged, but there had been a small little addition to it. On top of her dresser, a small area had been left untouched. Only the couple's ticket stood there, propped up. Tomoko gently placed the photo she was holding beside the ticket, using another prop to help the photo stand straight.

She stood back to admire her handiwork. There would be time to get a picture frame later, she thought.

It didn't matter. It was perfect anyways.

* * *

The following afternoon, Ryusei and Tomoko were both over at Miu's grand house again, getting all prepped up for Tomoko's prom. Shun was in the middle of helping out Ryusei, while Tomoko and Miu were in another room, Miu keeping Tomoko a secret from the two boys.

"Are women always going to be like this?" Ryusei asked as he buttoned up his navy blue dress shirt. Checking himself in the mirror to make sure that he hadn't skipped or left out a button, he nodded in satisfaction and took a small package from the table near him.

"Secretive?" Shun smiled knowingly. "Of course."

"What's in this package?" Ryusei asked him, displaying it over his shoulder so that the other man could see.

"Ah, probably the tie." Shun shrugged.

Ryusei looked at the package before he tore the wrapping paper apart. "Why was it still wrapped up?"

"Tradition has it that it'll match the girl's dress," Shun told him while he sipped his coffee.

Ryusei took the tie out of its plastic packaging and let it hang loose. "Never expected this colour," he said under his breath.

And it was true. The white cloth that he held in his hand wasn't something that he had expected Tomoko to wear. After all, she had broken out of her pure black stage and had worn something blue, but white? Pure white? He hadn't expected that.

"Maybe it's because Miu chose the dress."

That'd explain why.

Ryusei just shrugged as he tied it around his neck, before he took the vest that was hanging from a rack.

"No blazer this time?" he asked lightly.

"This time?" Shun looked surprised for a moment before he remembered. "Ah, yes, you went with Ritsuko during our year."

"Didn't really want to." Ryusei commented.

"I know," Shun got off from his seat and patted the younger man on the shoulder. "You took one for the team."

"Either that or get cursed by Tomoko," Ryusei grimaced at the memory. "I'm just happy that I'm not in fear of getting cursed this time."  
Shun grinned and checked him over from head-to-toe. It had to be perfect. Who knew how Miu would react if it wasn't perfect. He was sure that on her side, Miu was doing everything she could to ensure that Tomoko looked perfect.

"You're done," he announced. Turning away, he opened the door and did a mock bow. Ryusei quickly shuffled out, eager to be out of the changing room.

"Seriously though, no blazer?"

Shun just laughed as he followed Ryusei down the stairs.

"Shun!" Miu's voice called out from another room upstairs. "Are you done?"

"Waiting for you right now, _honey_," he shouted back.

Ryusei heard a door close as Miu led Tomoko down the hallway. Ryusei stepped out a little bit, craning his neck to see...

"Wow..." he breathed.

It was like something out of a fairytale, to see Tomoko like this. Like something so radiant, so divine, so breathtaking.

Tomoko noticed the intensity of his glare as she walked, no, glided in Ryusei's opinion, down the stairs. "S-stop staring at me like that," she mumbled, not meeting his eyes.

But it was all he could do... to see Tomoko like this. Her hair had been dyed in the few hours they had been at Miu's house, in an orange-brown colour. How Miu had ended up persuading her, he would never know, but Tomoko's hair was now straightened while some of her hair had been braided over top her hair, creating a band. Gone was the thick black eyeliner, her makeup looked completely natural with slight blush applied. But what was most surprising was the colour of her dress, it really was white. A pure white dress.

With frills and lace, of course. Ryusei had to smile as he noticed the frills and the lace. But it really did suit Tomoko. It wasn't like what she had worn to his graduation, instead, it looked to be like an altered white version of what she had worn during the final day before Rabbit Hutch's destruction. The neckline was low, but not low enough to reveal her cleavage. The dress covered her shoulders just up to her upper biceps and the back had a small white bow attached. It flowed all the way down to her feet, which were wearing slim white heels.

In other words, she looked like a blessing.

Especially since she was holding his blazer in her arms. Tomoko walked over to Ryusei while Shun had managed to slip beside Miu to watch.

"Here," she said as she opened up the blazer. "Turn around," she ordered.

Ryusei turned and slipped his arms through the blazer and turned around again to face her, allowing Tomoko to button him up and tighten up his tie one last time.

"Does it look strange on me?" she murmured.

Ryusei shook his head, "You look beautiful."

"Are you sure?" Tomoko looked up, "What if everyone else stares?"

"So what?" Ryusei caressed her hair, "Since when did you care what everyone else thought about you?"

"There was that one time where Tomoko was in detention because she hacked the school's computer system to delete a photos of herself just because her bow was slightly off," Shun teased.

Tomoko turned bright red, while Shun earned himself a slap from Miu. Ryusei just pulled her in closer. "Don't worry about it," he consoled her. "You look beautiful."

Tomoko nodded, holding back the tears in her eyes.

She wasn't sure how she had managed to get this miracle, especially after all the cursing she had done, but somehow, there it was.

* * *

**Thanks for reading! Explanations can be found over on my tumblr! Thanks for all the support from the previous chapter! **

**Please favourite, subscribe and leave a review :D **


	4. His Job

**Chapter 4: His Job**

* * *

**Disclaimer: I do not own Kamen Rider Fourze.**

* * *

In the quiet sanctuary of his apartment, Ryusei sat head bent over on his couch. A bottle of beer stood in front of him with two beer glasses around it. A manila envelope lay open on the table, its content scattered. His television was on, the news channel showing something happening in the world, the announcer's voice just echoing in the room while Ryusei just buried his head under his arms.

Well, he was going to have to tell her somehow. Ryusei shook his head, he didn't like what he was going to have to do.

But what kind of person would want to be in his shoes?

It had been around a year and a half since Tomoko had graduated from Amanogawa High School. Ryusei was still studying in university, having been able to fast track his courses so that he was currently in his final year. As all undergraduates do, he had begun looking for a stable job. In the meantime, he was still working at the temple, teaching as an assistant instructor alongside Inga and Jirou. Tomoko was also in the process of completing her degree, although her professors had taken a liking to her, one of them insisting that she was a natural talent in literature. She had entered many contests and placed decently during her first two years of university, much to her professor's delight. That professor had introduced to her to an agent who had immediately took to her writing, giving Tomoko her card in the case that she wrote anything that she wanted published. Ryusei felt a slight twinge of jealously mixed in with the pride and joy every time she had won something. Meanwhile, he was still trying to find a job as graduation approached quickly.

However, what had come in the mail a week ago had thoroughly shocked him. When he had read through the letter, he had been convinced it was a joke.

Until he got a call later on that night confirming the contents of the letter as true.

By chance, Inga had also received the same package, saying that it had been delivered to her apartment. Ryusei was relieved to know that someone else that he knew had been given it, although he hadn't been sure of what Tomoko's reaction would have been.

But how was he going to tell Tomoko?

Tomoko stepped out of the shower, water droplets dripping and splashing off her body as she took a towel off from the rack, drying herself. It had been a long stressful week for her, after completing all those assignments. She could do with some relaxation, she thought to herself as she dressed herself, draping the towel around her neck so she could dry her hair.

* * *

Once her hair was dried, she gave it one last tussle before she hung it back on the rack beside the other blue towel. A thin finger brushed against the two before she walked out of the bathroom and into the spare bedroom.

Yes, she was in Ryusei's apartment. She wasn't living with him though, but she did spent some nights sleeping over when she was too tired to return back home. Ryusei had basically given her half of his bathroom for her needs, while he also installed a vanity mirror for her in the guest room. On the table, makeup, nail polish and other trinkets were scattered, while there were a few pictures that had been inserted in the thin space between the glass and the frame.

Pictures of the Kamen Rider Club at their reunion, at Gentarou's return from his friendship tour, at Yuki's farewell party before she went off to NASA for a year, and just pictures of the two during dates. That was what was displayed on the vanity mirror, almost creating its own frame from the pictures. Tomoko looked at the top of the vanity mirror and saw the picture that the couple had taken back at Rabbit Hutch.

When Ryusei had first installed the vanity mirror in the guest room, she had been taken by surprise.

_"Won't this be in your way?" she had asked him._

_ "Of course not," he had answered back. "It'll be a little reminder of you."_

_ Tomoko had nodded, "But what about your desk?"_

_ "Oh that?" Ryusei had carelessly waved his hand. "I moved it into my room. It's easier to do work like that anyways."_

_ Tomoko hadn't been convinced though. "What about your guests? When you invite people over?"_

_ Ryusei had merely raised an eyebrow. "Can you think of anyone else that I would let stay the night other than you?"_

_ Tomoko shook her head gratefully before she allowed herself to be pulled into a tender kiss. _

_ Breaking away from his girlfriend, Ryusei had taken out the photo that the two had taken at Rabbit Hutch. It seemed like such a long time ago, but all the memories had rushed back to her as soon as she saw it. _

_ "Now to christen your vanity mirror," he said as he slipped it into the crack. He stepped back and pulled Tomoko close to him. "There," he whispered softly. "Now it's all yours."_

Tomoko exited her room, clad in comfortable grey sweats. She could hear the television as she walked towards the end of the small corridor.

"Ryusei-kun?" she called out.

No response.

"Ryusei-kun?" she tried again, slightly picking up her pace. She round the corridor and saw him sleeping on the couch, his beer in front of him. Tomoko smiled as she sat down gently beside him, taking care not to wake up him. She poured herself a half a glass of beer, glancing over at the papers that were laying around.

**OFFER OF EMPLOYMENT**

Tomoko had to think about the English letters before she grinned, comprehension dawning as she took up the papers. Finally, after waiting for so long, Ryusei had gotten an offer. She had watched him grow slightly stressed out and anxious as the months had drawn on. She shuffled them all and began to skim through the contents of the papers. Thankfully, the rest of the words were all in Japanese. Weird... Tomoko didn't remember if Ryusei applied to a foreign company.

**Sakuta Ryusei, we are pleased to offer you... training will take place in... approximately one year... benefits include... all travel and expenses paid for... fighting against international crime... predominantly based in Japan... Secure global police information system... 24/7 support to policing and law enforcement... Assisting in the identification of crimes and criminals...**

Tomoko felt her panic grow as she read through the papers, noticing the logo at the top of each page.

ICPO.

International Criminal Police Organization.

Interpol.

Setting down the papers, she reached for her drink and downed it. She slammed her empty glass down and flung herself back against the couch, knocking against Ryusei.

Ryusei groaned and opened his eyes, feeling pressure on one side of his body. He tilted his head over and saw Tomoko sitting beside him, her knees up, feet on the couch and arms wrapped around. Her head was straight, her gaze focused. Ryusei followed her stare until he found...

Oh.

OH.

OH...

This was bad.

"Tomoko-chan..." Ryusei murmured as she looked over.

"Sorry..." she mumbled. "Did I wake you up?"

"It's okay," Ryusei answered her as he sat up straight. She was still curled up. "Did you read it?"

Tomoko nodded, her mouth already forming a pout. "You never told me that Interpol offered you a job."

Ryusei smiled nervously. "I didn't know how to tell you."

Tomoko tilted her head curiously, "What do you mean?"

"You read it right?" Tomoko nodded, allowing Ryusei to continue. "It said that I'll be gone for a year to train in Europe."

"But you'll be back, right?"

"They'll allow me to come back to work at Interpol Tokyo with the NPA."

"So why were you so hesitant to tell me about this job?" Tomoko reached out to him, playing with his hair.

"It's going to be dangerous," Ryusei whispered. "I don't know if you want me to go. I don't know what'll happen if I go."

Tomoko pulled him in, "Are you scared?"

Ryusei nodded. "But for you."

Tomoko leaned back, "For me? Why?"

"What if people come after you? What if I'm not there to protect you?"

Tomoko shook her head, "Why would they come after me?"

"They might want to take revenge on me."

"And come to me?" Tomoko laughed softly. "I think you're overthinking here."

"But-" Ryusei protested, but Tomoko pulled in him into her lap, resting his head there.

"I'll be fine," she repeated, as Ryusei slowly wrapped his arms around her. "You don't have to worry so much.

"I've still got the rest of the Kamen Rider Club if I need them, right? And you've been teaching me martial arts here and there for the past few years."

Ryusei snuggled up closer to his girlfriend. "Thanks," he whispered as he closed his eyes.

Tomoko was surprised, "For what?"

"I thought you were going to break up with me," he said. "I thought you were going to say that it would be too hard for you to handle. Thought you were going to going to mad at me."

Tomoko snorted, "Of course not."

"Even if I told you that Inga Blink also got recruited by Interpol?" Ryusei asked slyly as he pulled her closer to him.

"Don't push your luck," she replied as she tried, unsuccessfully, to push Ryusei away.

* * *

It had taken a few months for Ryusei to get all of his affairs in order. Ryusei applied for early graduation from his university and informed them that he would be unable to attend the graduation ceremony as he would be in France at the time.

There had been the situation of the apartment, but together, Ryusei and Tomoko had managed to convince Tomoko's mother to let her to take partial ownership of the apartment and move in a month before Ryusei would leave to France for his recruitment, saving Ryusei the hassle of trying to find a buyer.

"I was going to ask you to move in anyway," Ryusei said, scratching the back of his head, as he watched Tomoko sign the documents. "I just didn't know it would be like this though."

Jirou would take over Inga and Ryusei's classes, along with some of junior instructors at the temple. At first, Jirou seemed to be overwhelmed by the amount of work that he was going to have to do without Inga or Ryusei to supplement him, but he soon found his rhythm, working like clockwork.

"Next time, I want Interpol to contact me," Jirou grumbled playfully as Inga and Ryusei exchanged a grin, while Tomoko stood at the door outside the office waiting for Ryusei so that they could go to their next destination.

They had to go to the rest of the Kamen Rider Club to inform all of them that Ryusei would be leaving Japan for a while, most of them took it well, although Gentarou had been crying over how Yuuki and Ryusei were both gone before Miu had berated him for acting so childishly, especially as a new teacher. Shun had also left a few months prior to train in America with his new American Football team, leaving Miu back in Japan to develop her budding modelling career.

"Now we can have some alone time," Miu had said cheerfully as she pulled Tomoko away from Ryusei. Tomoko had only smiled deviously as they looked towards Ryusei who suddenly felt slightly comfortable.

JK had taken it simply, saying that he had already Interpol had been headhunting in Japan, although he hadn't know who they had been after.

"_Ne_, how about you give me some information when you get up there?" he had said to Ryusei, his tone wily.

Of course, Ryusei had declined, saying that whatever information he got in Interpol would be kept secret. He still had a long way to go, he reminded JK.

Kengo had been last on the list as he was always swamped with work. Nevertheless, they had strode right into JAXA and found Kengo's lab. Kengo had been sleeping when they had found him, so they shook him awake. He had only a few minutes to spare, but they told him everything quickly and in turn, he had offered his congratulations.

"It'll be a shame to not have anyone that can understand what I'm talking about at our get-togethers," he lamented.

Ryusei had shook his head, saying that Kengo was too smart for him, but had asked him to keep him updated with his work.

With just a month left, Ryusei was busy helping Tomoko unpack her items from her boxes.

"What's this?" he asked as he found a jar of cicadas cushioned in between newspaper.

"Decorations," she had explained simply, gesturing towards the fake mini tree trunks around her room.

"I thought there were going to stay at your house?"

"Those are new from the store," came the reply. "It's a new room, a new life. Therefore new cicadas."

Quirky. Ryusei just smiled. He didn't know why he found her little quirks so adorable.

A few hours later, almost everything was unpacked, somewhat neatly. Her closet was full, her wardrobe packed, her accessories, cicadas littered around the room. Her collection of snake skins was hung near the windows, hanging left to right by darkest to lightest, her lucky white snake skin hanging closest to the window.

"There," Tomoko said softly, as she withdrew the last two items from the final box.

Ryusei tried to look over and see what she had taken out, but Tomoko got up quickly and placed one of the items on her vanity mirror. It was the switched uniform photo.

"Oh," Ryusei swallowed hard, as he remembered the moment.

Tomoko stood back and admired her handiwork, while Ryusei looked over at her, trying to peek at what she was hiding in her other hand.

Tomoko looked up and smiled mischievously, "Do you want to see?"

Ryusei nodded. Tomoko lifted it up, revealing the pair ticket that they had received from Yuuki. "Remember this?"

"How could I forget?" Ryusei stared at her lovingly. "It was the day we returned from that sub-space."

"I'm going to give this to you," Tomoko said quietly.

"Why? I thought you wanted to keep it."

"I do, but this way, just like we returned from the sub-space, you'll return to me with this ticket after your training.

"So once you're done your initial training, come back to Japan so that I know you're safe."

Ryusei nodded, "I will."

He reached out to take the ticket, but Tomoko had other plans. Instead, she pulled him in closer and kissed him behind the ticket.

"Come back safe, okay?" she whispered as they broke apart.

"I'm not even gone yet!" he teased her.

Tomoko nodded and embraced him, holding him tightly. She buried her head into his shoulder, and Ryusei patted her head gently, caressing her body.

"Ryusei-kun..."

"Hmm?"

"For the next month... can I sleep with you in your room?"

...

"Okay."

* * *

**Hurhurhur, Ryusei's heading off to Interpol! I guess by now, we can sorta see the little influences of their relationship? How they influence each other, I mean. **

**Uh, yeah, so I went up, searched up Interpol, searched up training, took some liberties. I never understood why people took secret agent as "he's leaving and not coming back for five years." So I just wrote my fanfiction this way. Don't get me wrong, this is my own headcanon, and I enjoyed each of those fanfictions where Ryusei has been away.**

**So it seems that Tomoko still might be a bit jealous of Inga Blink, but no matter, it'll all work out in the end! **

**Please leave a review, favourite or follow! Thanks for all your support!**


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